Sunday, May 12, 2013

Kind of a drastic update, and rather random in nature. I needed something fun to code in a couple hours. :)

Changes since 1.1.21:

Added a new terrain type, Treacherous Dunes!

This spawns on random maps about half as often as regular Dunes

It is completely impassible by any ground unit (due to sinkholes, water traps, worms, etc)

It looks like a high contrast version of regular Dunes and shows up slightly lighter colored than sand on the minimap

Doubled the cost of Refineries and increased build time

Hear me out on this one... I realized after much thought that somehow down through time I had allowed Refineries to get much too cheap. In the original game they were 400 Credits and while the first Harvester was free, every additional one was 300 credits more. Now in that context, 800 credits for unlimited harvesters (albeit one at a time) doesn't seem so unreasonable. And the simple fact is that it is just too easy to rush to a massive economical advantage. Yes, this change will slow down the early game, but I think the change to the meta game will be fantastic in that nearly every game should make it to mid-game (especially with the recent defensive buffs), and making good building decisions will have a greater effect toward the late-game. Battles will be smaller and more interesting. There will be more time to build strategies and counters. I'm very interested to see the ripples this will make through the community!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Hey guys,
Felt like doing a little fun coding this weekend, so I sat down with Frontliner and went over a bunch of ideas. This version has some sweeping changes for faction balance.

Changes since 1.1.19:

Faction bonuses for health and speed no longer apply

Instead, each Faction has certain research items granted or restricted to effect a total playing style. Atreides now have bonuses that make them both more effective and more reliant on using open rock space and spreading out. Ordos have greater intelligence but cannot build heavier units. Harkonnen cannot build faster and cheaper units but begin with combat advantages researched.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Hey guys,
Chris Taylor is a legend in the games industry... he created Total Annihilation, one of my favorite games of all time, as well as many other popular and excellent games. However, his company Gas Powered Games has had a bad run on Kickstarter and he was forced to make massive layoffs. All is not yet lost however... the funding campaign still has over two weeks left and hey, who knows, maybe a whole bunch of people will find out about it and save the project and the company.

Please, when you have a good block of time, check out this interview. There's a lot more to the layoffs I think you ought to know about. You might already be a fan of his, or you might just gain respect for him, or maybe you'll just get some good insights into the gaming industry. But, I'm a backer for the simple reason that I want to see Chris Taylor continue making games.

Friday, January 04, 2013

Just a quick note... I recently heard from a community member that the Linux software called Crossover will run the Windows version of D2TGP seamlessly. I've also heard Wine will work, but success there seems to be very mixed. At any rate, I've taken down the Linux download link, since I couldn't maintain a working environment for development and the last version I finished was old and largely non-functional. And no, there are no plans for another Linux version. Developing and supporting on that OS is pure hell in my opinion. :) However, my future projects will have much better support for multiple platforms.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

As some of you know now, I'm starting a new job right after New Year's. So, development will slow back down on D2TGP again. I'm glad I had this time off and was able to fix up some bugs and improve a couple things. Now however I'll be spending more of my free time on separate projects, some of which are game-related and will hopefully one day be available for download or purchase. ;)

Links

History

Welcome to the development page of Dune 2: The Golden Path. This is my attempt to recreate the original Dune 2 from the ground up, using completely original code and incorporating modern-day RTS features (and compatibility with Windows XP/Vista/7, Linux and Mac), with a focus on the multiplayer experience. The only things taken from the old Dune 2 are the graphics, sound, and gameplay style.When completed, this game will be available completely free of charge to the public. I may or may not release source code at various points during the project, but will most likely release all upon completion.The original Dune 2 always has a place in my heart. It reminded me of David Lynch's Dune, which appealed to me greatly as a lad, and even moreso now; The heavy paternal overtones and moody musical score makes me think of my father, who suffers from Lewy Body disease. The game itself also reminds me of an entire summer spent playing the game for hours a day with my big brother Aaron.This page and project are dedicated to my father.